West of Pluto () is a Canadian comedy-drama docufiction film, directed by Henry Bernadet and Myriam Verreault and released in 2008.Charles-Henri Ramond, "A l’ouest de Pluton – Film d’Henry Bernadet et de Myriam Verreault". Films du Québec, January 1, 2009.
Synopsis The film presents a full day in the life of Quebec teenagers. From waking up through school to an open house, the film puts the viewer in the shoes of the different characters by presenting a selection of typical scenes from teenage life in Quebec. We see teenagers making oral presentations in class, smoking drugs, discussing existential issues, trying to get beer before the legal age, criticizing social uniformity, partying and making love."Movie review: “Pluto” an offbeat look at a day in the life of Quebec teens". The Denver Post, May 6, 2016.
The film is acted by a cast of non-professional teen actors, cast from the high school in the Quebec City neighbourhood of Loretteville.Anabelle Nicoud, "À l'ouest de Pluton : incursion sur la planète ado". La Presse, October 24, 2008.
Cast
Release The film premiered in competition at the 2008 Festival du nouveau cinéma."À l’Ouest de Pluton de Henry Bernadet et Myriam Verreault". Qui Fait Quoi, October 23, 2008. It was subsequently screened in competition at the 2009 International Film Festival Rotterdam,Anabelle Nicoud, "À l’ouest de Pluton en compétition au Festival de Rotterdam". La Presse, January 7, 2009. before going into commercial release in February 2009.
Followup Verreault and Bernadet each later emerged with solo film efforts, Verreault with Kuessipan in 2019, and Bernadet with Gamma Rays (Les Rayons gamma) in 2023.Charles Rioux, "Les rayons gamma : le talent brut des jeunes de Saint-Michel au grand écran". Ici Radio-Canada, November 10, 2023.
When Telefilm Canada launched its contemporary program of digitally restoring classic Canadian films in the late 2010s, West of Pluto was one of the first films selected by the FNC, with the restored version receiving a screening at the 2021 Festival du nouveau cinéma.Sophie Bernard, "Le FNC projette une version restaurée de « À l’ouest de Pluton »". Lien Multimédia, October 6, 2021. Despite this, the film has proven perenially difficult to locate even in its digital version;Marc Cassivi, "Répertoire des films disparus". La Presse, April 26, 2024. in 2024, Verreault launched an appeal on social media for a distributor to make the film available, and noted that she has sometimes even resorted to mailing out home-burned DVD-R copies of the film to people who contacted her to ask where they could find it.Étienne Paré, "Plusieurs films québécois quasi introuvables". Le Devoir, April 23, 2024.
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